Tubesnout, tubenose • Aulorhynchus flavidus

Top: a single tubesnout photographed by Tristan Blaine. Left: tubesnout eggs laid on bull kelp. Photo by Jenn Burt. Right: a school of tubesnouts photographed by Mike Munroe.

IdentificationThe tubesnout is a small, elongated fish related to sticklebacks. Its somewhat rigid body can be up to 19 cm long. It has a long tube-shaped snout and a small mouth, with large pectoral fins set close to the head. Its single dorsal fin, set far back on the body, is mirrored below by a similarly-sized anal fin. Many small spines line the dorsal side from the head to the dorsal fin. The dorsal, anal, and forked tail fins are all fairly translucent, so the tubesnout tends to look like a shimmery light-coloured line rather than an actual fish. Body colouring is mottled brownish, varying between olive green and yellow-brown. Adult males develop bright blue spots and a fluorescent snout during the breeding season.

Habitat & RangeSchools of tubesnouts can be spotted hovering in shallow waters around docks and pilings, in kelp and eelgrass beds, and in rocky or sandy-bottomed areas. These schools tend to stay near the surface. Large, dense schools may be seen further from shore.

Intriguing InfoThe tubesnout belongs to Family Aulorhynchidae, which contains just two living species. The tubesnout spawning process is intricate. After staking out territory, males create a nest of seaweed bound with sticky genital fluid. Each male is accompanied by up to ten females, who then take turns depositing clusters of eggs into the nest. The male fertilizes each cluster and then spends up to three weeks guarding the nest of eggs until they hatch into tiny (8mm long) transparent larvae.​iNaturalist​https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/117568-Aulorhynchus-flavidus